


Simple Magic

by spacesquidlings



Series: You Are My Sunshine [18]
Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Jihyun Week 2020, Romance, fairytale AU, mermaid, mermaid au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-03
Updated: 2020-09-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:28:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26271148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spacesquidlings/pseuds/spacesquidlings
Summary: Jihyun Kim is a noble of the sea, but that means little when his heart is cloaked in shadow and he spends his days in the coldest parts of the water. And then one day he hears a voice, a song like magic, and he finally gets a taste of the sunshine and the light he has dreamt of for so long
Relationships: V | Kim Jihyun & Main Character, V | Kim Jihyun & Reader, V | Kim Jihyun/Main Character, V | Kim Jihyun/Original Female Character(s), V | Kim Jihyun/Reader
Series: You Are My Sunshine [18]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1751110
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23





	Simple Magic

**Author's Note:**

> Hey!!!! This is my first piece for Jihyun Week 2020. I based it off of the prompt "fairytale"  
> Its a mermaid AU!!! I hope everyone enjoys it!!!!

The ocean was cold, but Jihyun did not mind. It was his home, where he had grown and lived for all the years of his life.

He had been born in one of the deep, sprawling estates that often sunk into the shadows of the ocean, where the sun’s light had to fight through kelp and seaweed and coral and stone before struggling to slip between the spun silk of the curtains of the estate. There were spiralling towers that reached upwards, like fingers grasping for something just out of reach, and they often shone gold in the afternoon sun. The rooms in the towers were warm, too, and Jihyun used to spend his days flitting between them, wondering if this was what it was like to feel the sunlight washing across his face. If this was the warmth he would feel if he laid out on the sandy beaches that wrapped around the ocean’s waves.

Most of the estate, however, was dark, and his father’s servants used small fires to brighten the shadowed, winding halls. Although no amount of fire could compare to the sunlight he would watch trailing overhead, the sunshine he would find himself reaching for like the towers that cut through the cerulean waters.

Although he’d long since moved out of his father’s home, Jihyun was still far too used to the darkened, frigid waters. And he felt too, like it was something he deserved. Like the cold that wrapped around him was something he had earned in his imperfect life. Something he must bear and grow accustomed to for the rest of his days.

He swam further, pushing the thought to the back of his mind. This was no time to lose himself in his thoughts. Not when his arms were filled with supplies for the young class he was mentoring, the children no older than five, their fins and tails still a pallid silver, the same as most newborns. Their scales likely wouldn’t begin shifting colours for another few years, yet.

Jihyun looked down at his own scales, at the scales that had shifted to turquoise and sky blue, melting into a deep azure closer to his fins. He remembered the day they’d changed far too well, barely a few days after his mother had…

He shook his head, swallowing the bile that was building in his throat. It didn’t matter. Didn’t matter that they were colours she would have loved. That she would have told him about the sky, about the days she used to swim close to the surface just to feel the sunshine on her face. Didn’t matter that he’d barely started hearing such stories before he’d lost her forever.

Jihyun gritted his teeth, forcing himself to swim forward. He had children to take care of, to help nurture and guide in whatever way he could.

But he couldn’t help swimming up, just a little bit. Just a little bit closer to the sun.

He smiled into the faint light, imagining what it would be like to be embraced by it, to feel its warmth wrap around him, banishing the shadows that crawled deep in his soul.

He was so busy revelling in the light, in the soft warmth, so loathe to plunge back into the colder waters, that he didn’t notice himself floating up. He thought it was all in his mind, all his imagination wrapping around him, creating an illusion of sunlight so strong he could trick himself into thinking it was real.

But then he could feel light piercing past his eyelids, turning his world into a golden haze. His eyes flew open, and he found himself much closer to the surface than he’d ever intended.

A colourful school of fish swarmed around him, a cacophony of colour that reminded him of a dream he’d had once, of a painting he’d always wanted to create. He laughed as one swam through his hair, as another brushed against his arm, his face. Wiping away some of the darkness that had lingered in his mind.

They were gone all too soon, and he watched them fade into the shadows, still smiling.

Wonderful, utterly beautiful.

The world was truly filled with simple magic.

He shifted the packages in his arms, art supplies and books and snacks for the children he was mentoring. He really would have to go now, after wasting so much time daydreaming. He’d been the one to offer teaching the children art, and they’d looked so excited, he couldn’t disappoint them now.

But he’d no sooner turned to plunge back into the deeper waters that he froze, a quiet, murky melody reaching his ears.

It sent light scattering through him, like stars were blooming in his heart. A song sweet and soft that made him want to smile and cry all at the same time.

He spun around, searching for the source of the song. Was there somebody close by? Was there a hidden cave nearby where someone was camped out, quietly practising their music away from the swarming crowds of the ocean cities?

But there was no one, nothing but open ocean and the flickering light of the sun, glimmering as the waves rolled above the surface.

Jihyun swam in a circle, searching for the source of the voice as it slowly grew louder. It reminded him of the chiming of silver bells, sharp and clear, cutting through the water like a knife.

Where was it coming from?  _ Who _ was it coming from?

It didn’t occur to him to look up, not until shadows passed overhead. Not until darkness enveloped him for the briefest of moments and he shivered.

He craned his neck, peering up as the strange shape passed overhead, as the sound of the singing grew louder still.

The shadow continued on, passing over him in a flash, the warm light wrapping around him once more as the shape vanished. The singing grew fainter, dimmer, until it sounded more like an echo ringing in his memory than true song.

He shot towards the surface, following the ripples in the water that trailed after the shadows, entranced by that voice. He felt like a fish on a lure, pulled towards an unknown world as he drew closer, as the sunlight grew brighter, the water warmer.

And as he moved, that voice too grew louder. He felt it seep into his heart, into his bones, drawing him towards it.

He wondered, distantly, if this was what sailors felt like in stories, when the siren’s honeyed song washed over them. When the music flowed through them like wine, their minds empty except for the song in the air.

Jihyun felt a little like that, his thoughts vanishing like seafoam washing away from the shore. All he could think of was the song, was the sunlight that was beginning to brush against his face.

He barely noticed how clear the water had become, how close he was to the surface now. How he could make out the strange shape he had been following, the roaring motor attached to it that threatened to drown out that beautiful song.

He didn’t freeze, didn’t hesitate before breaking the surface, water streaking down his face as he gasped in the air. He needed to be closer, he needed to be closer to that voice.

But for a moment, as he bobbed above the waves, he forgot about the voice entirely. Forgot about the song. Forgot about everything except the way the air cut into his lungs as he breathed it in. How dizzy he felt, how easy it was to breathe and breathe and breathe.

Forgot about nearly everything except the burning light that was washing across his face, a heat he had never felt before, a light so bright he felt like he might go blind if he looked at it too long.

The surface. A place he had only ever heard stories about. A place he’d only heard about from his mother and from the heavy journals she had left for him.

And then the sound of the song again snagged his attention, dragging him from his reverie and confusion. It pulled his attention to his left, to where a strange contraption floated above the water.

There were people on top, crowded together like sardines. They were waving, laughing, dancing, and he could hear the faint strains of a dissonant noise spilling from the sides. But no, that was not the sound he had chased after so desperately and so impulsively.

He spun around, spotting an outcropping of rocks not too far away. It was near a small cavern, the opening just large enough that he probably could have fit through.

He swam towards it, keeping himself low in the water, sudden terror wracking through him at the thought of being seen.

He didn’t know what would happen if he was seen, whether he would be captured or if he would manage to escape. But his nannies had told him horror stories when he had been a child, of humans taking merfolk captive, of eating their scales and selling their fins for gold.

While he knew that the stories were likely meant to keep him in line and  _ far _ from the surface, he still found himself shivering beneath the burning sun. He swam for the rocks, hiding behind the ones furthest from the floating shape.

He narrowed his eyes as he watched, wondering what had happened to that song, to the music that had drawn him from the ocean’s depths.

He was considering diving back beneath the surface, even as he felt the water on his face dry, as the rolling waves brushed below his chin, as he tipped his face back just the tiniest bit to feel the sun’s full strength washing across him.

He watched the floating shape, watched as it reached another outcropping not too far from where he hid, people filling out onto the rocky shore. He could make out the murmur of their chattering, sound seeming to travel much faster here than it did below the water.

Incredible. This was incredible. He would have to tell Jumin about this when he returned.

Jihyun clutched at the supplies in his arms, his gaze sweeping across the world. Birds screeched overhead, nearly making him jump, and one swooped so low he thought it would land on his head. He could see more shapes in the distance, dotting the top of rocky cliffs that wrapped around the shore.

His senses felt nearly overwhelmed by the light and the smells and the sounds that pummeled against him, but he could not move, could not leave. He needed to stay, needed to drink it all in.

Never before had he wished for legs, but as he watched the people wandering towards the cliff, climbing up something set into the rock face, he couldn’t stop the yearning that bloomed in his heart. To walk along the shore, to feel the stones against his skin, to see what lay beyond that rocky wall.

He wondered what there was beyond his line of sight. Whether there was magic and palaces with towers that speared towards the sun. If there were town squares that were drowning in music and laughter. If people laid out across the ground just to feel the sunlight seeping into their bones, warming their souls. 

Jihyun was so enraptured by everything, so deep in his own imagination, that he didn’t realize someone was wandering towards his hiding place. Didn’t notice even as her feet scuffed against the uneven stone, knocking pebbles into the water. Didn’t notice the sound of the keys jingling in her pocket or the way she muttered to herself as she leaned against the rock wall for support.

No, Jihyun was so enthralled by being above the surface that he wouldn’t have noticed her at all if she hadn’t started singing.

He was yanked from his thoughts in an instant, swivelling his head as she came closer.

That voice, the one that had drawn him here.

This was the person. This was the person who he had chased after.

Before, Jihyun had thought this was like the stories of the sailors enthralled by sirens. But in this instant, as his gaze fell on the woman peering into the cave, he realized it wasn’t like that at all.

This was like the fairytales his mother had read to him, this was the moment the prince laid his eyes on the princess for the very first time. When the world was bathed in buttery light, the wind dying down as her voice grew louder, starlight blooming in his heart as she sang.

This was magic, pure and simple.

Jihyun remained where he was, unmoving as she drew closer. He was torn between ducking beneath the water to hide and desperately wanting to move closer, to see her better. He wanted to memorize the lines of her face, how the sun made her eyes glow, how her fingers played with something around her neck as she took a step into the cave.

He wanted to do both, and settled for neither, instead bobbing above the waves and listening to her voice, to her song.

“MC!”

She spun around as another person made his way towards her, and Jihyun’s heart clenched.

No, he didn’t want her to stop singing. Didn’t want her to go.

He didn’t understand how her song could drag him from the ocean’s depths, but they had, and now that he was here he didn’t want to lose that song again. Didn’t want to live without it. Didn’t want to return to the empty shadows that so often enveloped him.

Her singing turned to a quiet hum as she waved at the new person. She turned back to the cave, but froze, her eyes growing wide.

It took Jihyun a long, long moment to realize she was looking at  _ him _ .

He felt his heart stop, his breath clogging in his throat as she took a step closer, staring at him.

“MC, what are you doing?!”

She ignored the other person, walking towards where Jihyun was no longer hidden.

He couldn’t move, was frozen in place as she crouched by the edge of the rocks. He couldn’t say anything, couldn’t breath as she stared, her mouth falling open in an  _ o _ . She held his gaze, and he’d never felt anything like it before.

“MC, what are you looking at?”

She stood suddenly, spinning around as the second voice grew far too close.

“Oh, I thought I saw a fish!”

“It’s the ocean, of course you’re going to see fish.”

She laughed, walking away from Jihyun, seeming to push the other person away from him.

He stayed there for a very long time, bobbing above the water, watching as she disappeared from sight, into a world he could not see.

It wasn’t until the blue of the sky was stained with blushing pinks and burning crimson and deepest indigo that Jihyun finally dove back beneath the waves, the woman’s voice still ringing in his ears.

***

Jihyun came back the next day, feeling utterly ridiculous and yet being unable to stop himself as he again broke the surface, revelling in the sunshine on his face.

She probably wasn’t here. She probably had no intention of coming back and it was silly to think she’d come back to the  _ exact _ same place.

Except that she had.

Jihyun turned as his vision cleared, trying to reorient himself and find the outcropping he’d hidden by the day before. And then his gaze had fallen on  _ her _ , perched on the rocky ledge, her feet dangling in the water.

His breath lodged in his throat, his heart tripping over itself as he saw her there. As he strained his ears to hear the faint melody she was humming.

He swam closer without thinking, cutting through the water until he was floating barely a foot away.

She looked up from something in her hand, her humming swept away on the ocean breeze as her eyes fell on him.

She tucked whatever she’d been holding into her pocket, her gaze fixed entirely on him.

“You came back,” she said, her voice soft as gossamer threads.

He swam closer, wanting to be closer.  _ Needing _ to be closer.

“So did you,” he said.

His voice sounded strange on the surface, louder somehow, stronger.

She nodded. “I wanted to see if you would come back.”

He flushed, heat crawling across his face, and he nearly sunk below the surface.

She wanted to see if he’d come back? She wanted to see  _ him? _

“What about you?” She asked, propping her elbows on her thighs as she leaned forward. “Why did you come back?”  
His face was so hot he thought he might burst into flames, and he looked away as he responded.

“I wanted to hear your voice,” he muttered.

She blinked, her cheeks turning a rosy pink. “You wanted to hear  _ my _ voice?”

He nodded. “I’d heard you singing yesterday and I…” He trailed off, his mouth suddenly very  _ very _ dry. “I wanted to hear you sing again.”

She tipped her head to the side, splashing her feet in the water. “I think I can do that for you.”

Now it was Jihyun’s turn to blink, taken aback by her response even as he felt a gauzy flutter in his heart. “Pardon?”

“I’ll sing for you,” she said, smiling. “If that’s what you want.”

It  _ was _ what he wanted. He wanted to hear her voice again, wanted to let it embrace him like the sunlight he finally got to feel against his skin.

“I would like that,” he said, his voice growing soft.

“On one condition, though,” she said, her eyes sparkling like light on the water. Like there was magic in their depths

“What kind of condition?”

She trailed one of her hands through the water, humming. “That you’ll come back tomorrow, too.”

Jihyun smiled, something warm and golden bubbling in his heart as he nodded. “I think I can manage that.”

***

Jihyun came back the next day, and the day after that, and the day after that. Each day he would break the surface only to be greeted by sunlight and a smile that was slowly becoming his favourite.

She would laugh as he splashed her, kicking small waves towards him until he grabbed her ankles, threatening to pull her into the water with him.

“ _ No! _ ” She would cry, laughing as she wiggled in his grasp. “The water is so cold!”

She would scrabble at the rocks, holding them until he let her go, chuckling as she feigned indignation.

“I’m just going to wear my bathing suit tomorrow,” she grumbled, pouting. “Then it won’t matter if you pull me into the water.”

“I thought you said it was cold,” he said, moving towards one of the rocks, resting his chest against the sun-warmed stone.

She shrugged. “I think it would be alright with you.”

He flushed, his entire body burning, his scales glowing a cerulean light as he grew more flustered.

He was becoming flustered a lot nowadays, now that he spent most of his afternoons and evenings in her company. It had happened before, but not as regularly as it did now. He would catch his reflection in the wavering surface of the water, his cheeks stained a sunset pink, the colour crawling past his hair.

He didn’t know what was happening, didn’t quite understand it. But every day he looked forward to these moments, to her voice and her smile. Looked forward to her warmth and her words. He felt the shadows in his heart quiver beneath her, melting away beneath this new friendship. Felt something new replace them, something light and golden and bubbly that made him want to smile and laugh.

She giggled, splashing his face again. “Would you like me to sing again?”

He nodded, golden light spilling through his heart as she began with one of her favourites.

This was often how their days went, teasing words followed by the beautiful sound of her voice dancing through the summer air. And when she had run through all the songs that she loved and that he was beginning to love too, they would talk. They would talk about anything and everything, from his daily duties as the firstborn of a noble to her favourite stories she would read for fun.

He told her about his favourite places to visit, the paintings he dreamt of making one day, if he ever built the courage to. She told him about the music she liked to play, about the foods she liked to eat in the morning when the air was still cool.

She was visiting, she told him one afternoon when the sun was high and so hot that she’d slipped into the water next to him. Her fingers were twined with his as she’d treaded water, so close he could have wrapped her in his arms if he’d wanted to.

Not that he’d ever considered it. Dreamt of it. Imagined if it would be as warm and soft as her voice twining with the call of the seagulls swooping overhead.

She told him she was visiting her family for the summer, that she was taking a vacation from her daily life. He asked her when she would be returning, wanted to know how much time he had left with her.

“ _ Soon,” _ she said, her shoulders slumping as shadows passed over her face. “In barely more than a week.”

Jihyun had never known such sorrow as he did when he heard that. On seeing how dark her face grew as those words fell from her rosebud lips.

He felt a crack in his heart, a fissure forming deep in his soul where her song and her voice usually filled him to the brim.

Gone. She would be gone. Soon she would no longer be here on these rocks. Soon she would no longer swim with him when the days grew hot.

“Is it far?” He asked. “Where you live?”

She nodded, growing more solemn still. “It’s near the ocean, but it’s far from here.”

“What’s it like?”

She hummed, her gaze flicking to the sky. She chewed on the corner of her lip, moving closer.

He loved that, he loved watching her as she thought. He hadn’t realized how endearing it was until it filled his heart with light as it did now.

“It’s much colder,” she said at last, her eyes meeting his. “And there are mountains that are covered in snow.”

He’d never seen mountains before, had no idea what they were, and he listened in rapture as she described them to him. As she painted a picture of deep greens and browns. Of hidden lakes that glittered like gems. Of curving roads that went on and on, twisting towards the horizon.

His heart ached as she told him about the mountains, about how she had driven through them so many times. He wanted to see them. He wanted to breathe in the smell of pine and earthy soil. He wanted to hear the chatter of birds and squirrels, to feel grass against his skin, to feel the roughness of tree bark against his palms.

Wanted to wander through the trees and the forests she told him about. Wanted to see it, to explore the paths and trails, with her beside him.

It was silly, likely the kind of thing a child would ask for, and yet he couldn’t remember wanting something so deeply. Couldn’t remember such an intense yearning taking root in his heart.

He wanted to see these things. He wanted to see them with her. Beside her. He wanted to be by her side.

He wanted  _ her _ .

The realization hit him like a shark barreling into his chest as the sun dipped below the horizon and she began swimming towards the outcropping.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” she called, giving his hand one final squeeze before climbing from the water.

It made his heart ache, made his stomach roil like the storming sea.

He watched her walk away, rivulets of water spilling down her back and her legs, catching the silvery evening light and glowing like her body was made of stars.

He bit his lip as he dove back beneath the waves, feeling the shadows embracing him as he swam deeper and deeper, back to his own shady home and its lonely halls.

He’d almost made it to his chambers when he finally snapped from his melancholy. 

He paused in the doorway to his rooms, his mind reeling.

He wanted to be close to her, wanted to spend as much time as possible by her side. And he refused to spend it in misery. Refused to let these shadows lurk in his heart while he still had time with her.

Had he not likened this to a fairytale already? To the cherished stories his mother had shared with him?

Did the heroes of these stories not do everything in their power to fight for what they wanted? Whether it be through strength or magic or wit?

Jihyun swam through his entry room, heading towards his bedroom, his mind a storm as he prepared for bed.

He would not waste these last few days with her. And he would find a way to see her again.

***

The rest of the week passed in a blur of songs and laughter and sun-drenched afternoons.

Jihyun found that she was swimming with him more now, slipping into the ocean as soon as her sparkling gaze met his.

And he couldn’t complain, not when it meant holding her hands when she was tired of treading water. Not when she seemed to move closer to him as the moments passed them by. Not when he was becoming so very used to the smell of lavender and cinnamon and coconut, when the smell of her lingered in the air even when she was gone. Not when it meant getting to see her face so close to his, to see the freckles on her brow and the bright red of her flushed cheeks.

She’d paddle towards him, swimming out into the deeper water where the turquoise of the ocean turned to a midnight blue. And he would hold out his arms, letting her press her hands against his to help keep her afloat when she grew tired.

They would stay like that sometimes for hours, talking or singing or just peering up at the sky together. Other times they would swim out a little further, and she would let him pull her out into the sea. He would point out colourful schools of fish and his heart would melt as her lips arced into the most stunning of smiles.

They even came upon a shark once, and she’d cried out, wrapping her arms around him and clinging to his chest.

Jihyun’s heart had  _ stopped _ in that moment, his entire body burning like he’d been set alight.

She’d been so close. She’d been so very very close. He had felt her breath against his neck, her fingers pressing into his back, her legs curling around his waist and holding him so  _ very _ tightly.

He’d swallowed, pretending like he wasn’t falling apart in that moment as he’d reached out, running a hand over the shark’s head.

“It won’t hurt you,” he’d breathed, waving to it as it had swam away. “See? You’re safe.”

She’d still clung to him for a while after that, and he’d swam on his back for a while, supporting her head and keeping her afloat as her panic slowly melted away.

He hadn’t wanted to admit it, but he’d been sad when she’d finally let go, the water feeling so much colder in her absence.

How had he ever been able to be used to this before? How had he ever been able to accept the cold?

MC looked at him over a week later as he tugged her back towards the rocks and the small cave, her voice full of sorrow as she’d called to him.

“Jihyun.”

He paused, turning to meet her gaze.

“Tomorrow is my last day,” she said, her eyes sliding to the darkened water. “I leave early in the morning the day after.”

‘ _ Tomorrow is my last day.’ _

His stomach dropped, and his breath lodged in his throat.

‘ _ Tomorrow is my last day.’ _

Had it been over a week already? Had the time truly passed so quickly?

He would never see her again. After tomorrow she would fade away like the sun at dusk and his life would be plunged back into starless nights and shadows.

_ No _ .

No he would not think like that.

Jihyun took her hands in his, his heart beating furiously as he lifted them to his lips, brushing a kiss against the back of her hands.

“Will you still come tomorrow?” He asked, peeking up at her.

She nodded, her face a beautiful crimson. “I have to see some family and pack, so I won’t be able to come for long. But I’ll still be here.”

He kissed her hands again before lowering them back into the water, an idea already forming in his mind. “As long as I get to see you one more time.”

***

Jihyun returned to the surface much earlier than usual, hugging the small gift he’d chosen close to his chest.

She’d said she didn’t have much time today, and he didn’t want to miss her. Wanted to make sure he could spend every last second with her.

She arrived when the sun was high, clothed in a light blue dress, her hair pulled back with a band of flowers.

Her face brightened when he waved to her, and she sprinted over the rocks towards him, even as he shouted at her to slow down.

“You could fall and hurt yourself,” he chided as she drew near, panting from her sprint.

“It would have been worth it,” she said, kicking off her sandals before sitting on the rocks, dunking her feet in the water.

Although her smile was wide and her voice was light, Jihyun could still see the sadness in her eyes. Could still see the shadows that passed across her face.

“I have something for you,” he said, holding the gift out to her.

She tipped her head to the side, curiosity filling her gaze as she held out her hand, letting him drop it into her waiting palm. “What is it?”

“It’s a shell,” he said, cupping her hand with both of his.

“It’s so pretty,” she sang, starlight dancing in her voice.

“It’s not just a shell, though,” he continued. “It’s one we use sometimes to call each other.”

“What do you mean?” She asked, her eyes narrowing as she leaned forward to peer at it.

“If you hold it close to your ear, I can talk to you through a shell of my own. And if you talk into it, I’ll be able to hear you, too.”

“Like a phone?!” She asked, her face lighting up like the sky at dawn. “So we can talk whenever we want?!”  
He nodded, unable to stop the smile that bloomed across his lips. “We’ll be able to talk whenever we want.”

Silver lined her eyes as she threw her arms around him, burying her face against his neck.

“Thank you,” she breathed. “I didn’t know what I was going to do without you.”

“But there is one condition,” he continued, unable to keep the mirth from his voice.

She pulled away, arching a brow. “What is it?”

“That you won’t move from your home until I find you again.”

She laughed then, a joyous, merry sound that he would hear in his dreams for years to come as he searched her out. “I think I can manage that.”

She stayed with him, their arms wrapped around each other until figures appeared on the cliffs, shouting her name as they began climbing down the rock wall towards them.

“I have to go,” she breathed, tears spilling down her face.

“Don’t cry,” he said, brushing the pad of his thumb beneath her eyes. “We will see each other again.”

“Do you promise?”

“As long as the sun still rises, I will find a way.”

She sniffed, nodding. “Okay. I’m holding you to that, Jihyun.”

He had the urge to kiss her face then, to show her that this was no empty promise, to show her that he would find a way to see her again.

But instead he took her hands, settling on kissing her knuckles once more before she stood.

“Goodbye, Jihyun,” she said, clutching the shell close to her chest.

He laughed, hoping to hide the pain in his own voice, hoping to keep his own tears at bay. “Don’t look so sad. You’ll still be able to talk to me whenever you want.”

Her expression grew softer, and a small smile danced at the corner of her lips. “You’re right. I’ll talk to you soon.”

He watched her as she walked away, heard her shouts as she said something to the people that had come searching for her. And he watched as she climbed up the rock, pausing on the cliff and looking out towards the ocean.

Although she was far away, he could see her face in his mind. Could see her eyes growing warm, loose strands of hair whipping against her reddened cheeks, her mouth moving as she sang, so quietly the sound was stolen by the wind. 

But he could feel it. Could feel the song in his heart that had first lured him here, that had brought him to this marvelous woman who had brightened his world in a way the sunshine never could.

He turned towards the open ocean as she finally disappeared from the cliff, his eyes burning as he fought against his tears. But there was resolve in his heart next to the sorrow of losing her and the aching loneliness left in her wake.

He would find her. He would figure out a way to find her again.

If this was their story, if it was a fairytale, he would see it through until their happily ever after.


End file.
